Inexpensive Vacations - Three Ideas
The biggest advantage of inexpensive vacations? You can have
more of them! Here are a few ideas to get you started.
All Inclusive Resorts
All inclusive resort deals, which provide all the food you
can eat, along with activities and even drinks, are a great experience.
You can leave your wallet in the room and swim up to the pool
bar for a drink anytime you like, or eat in one of the resort
restaurants without waiting for a bill afterwards. The only problem
is that these are not normally inexpensive vacations.
Fortunately, there are a couple ways to have an all inclusive
resort vacation for as much as half-off. One way is to search
for last minute deals. In fact, you can start by searching "last
minute packages" or "last minute all inclusive deals"
in any search engine. Or you can go to places like Expedia.com
and look for special deals.
We recently did this and found a package for about $600 each
for five days and four nights. It included the flight from Denver
to Cancun, and everything at the resort. I mean everything, by
the way. We never left the resort. All drinks (alcoholic and
otherwise) were included at any of their four bars. All meals
were included at any of their six restaurants. There was a free
show every night (dance shows, comedy skits, a magician and more),
and dancing in the lounge. We swam in the ocean or one of the
swimming pools, and soaked in the hot tubs. Even kayaking in
the lagoon was included.
These deals are set up for two people or more if you want
to keep it inexpensive. They did try to sell us on tours of the
jungle, etc, but there was so much to do at the resort that we
just stayed there. In fact we checked out having never shown
them a credit card even, and we spent perhaps $30 on tips, although
those were actually included too (we felt like tipping extra).
The other way to get these deals is to book a trip during
the off-season. That can vary from place to place, so check on
this carefully. Generally, you won't find the best deals during
spring break.
Two Other Inexpensive Vacations
Another way to keep it cheap is to find a hostel near a beach
and look for cheap flights. If you haven't stayed in a hostel
before, let me warn you that it may not be right for you. You
essentially rent a bed in a common sleeping area instead of a
private room. Bathrooms and kitchen areas are shared. If you
can handle a party atmosphere and shared space, this can be a
great way for a single person to spend less to travel.
One of the advantages besides the savings is that you meet
so many people. Generally there is a common room where guests
watch television and mingle. I met people from a dozen different
nations when I stayed in a hostel in Ecuador.
If privacy is important to you, you can check to see what
a private room in a hostel will cost. Most have a few private
rooms, and they are cheaper than hotel rooms. You might still
have to share the television in the common area, but this can
be a nice compromise, especially if two of you are going, and
the bed rate would be almost as much for two as a room.
Finally, there is one way to arrange really inexpensive vacations
while keeping in touch with old friends and family. First, make
a list of people you know who live in places you would like to
visit. Then check online to see which destinations have the best
deals on airfare. Once you have that information, call a couple
of your family members or friends and see if they would like
company. You might have a nice week-long vacation for under $400
following this strategy.
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